Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Declares $0.02 Interim Dividend

Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) announced a interim dividend on Thursday, June 26th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a dividend of 0.0207 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Wednesday, October 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th.

Orion has a payout ratio of 4.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Orion to earn $2.08 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 3.8%.

Orion Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:OEC traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $10.68. The company had a trading volume of 1,992,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 565,287. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $11.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $600.79 million, a P/E ratio of 23.21 and a beta of 1.10. Orion has a one year low of $9.59 and a one year high of $24.85.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.31). Orion had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 1.44%. The company had revenue of $477.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $486.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Orion will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OEC has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Orion from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $18.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Orion from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Orion

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Orion by 202.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 121,078 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 81,079 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Orion by 86.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 149,128 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,928,000 after purchasing an additional 69,054 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Orion by 10.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 283,138 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,661,000 after purchasing an additional 27,442 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Orion in the first quarter worth about $137,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Orion by 3.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,857 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company's stock.

Orion Company Profile

Orion SA, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of carbon black products. It operates in two segments, Specialty Carbon Black and Rubber Carbon Black. The company offers post-treated specialty carbon black grades for coatings and printing applications; high purity carbon black grades for the fiber industry; and conductive carbon black grades for batteries, polymers, and coatings.